The Basics of Backgammon Tactics – Part Two
Posted in Backgammon on 05/17/2025 11:25 pm by Madisyn
As we dicussed in the previous article, Backgammon is a game of skill and pure luck. The goal is to shift your pieces safely around the game board to your inner board and at the same time your opposition shifts their checkers toward their home board in the opposing direction. With competing player pieces shifting in opposing directions there is going to be conflict and the need for particular strategies at specific times. Here are the last two Backgammon plans to finish off your game.
The Priming Game Plan
If the aim of the blocking tactic is to hamper the opponents ability to shift her chips, the Priming Game plan is to completely stop any movement of the opposing player by assembling a prime – ideally 6 points in a row. The competitor’s checkers will either get hit, or end up in a battered position if she at all tries to leave the wall. The ambush of the prime can be established anywhere between point 2 and point 11 in your board. Once you have successfully assembled the prime to block the movement of the competitor, the competitor doesn’t even get a chance to roll the dice, and you shift your checkers and toss the dice yet again. You will win the game for sure.
The Back Game Strategy
The aims of the Back Game plan and the Blocking Game tactic are very similar – to hinder your competitor’s positions in hope to better your chances of succeeding, however the Back Game plan relies on different tactics to do that. The Back Game plan is generally employed when you’re far behind your competitor. To participate in Backgammon with this tactic, you need to control 2 or more points in table, and to hit a blot late in the game. This strategy is more difficult than others to play in Backgammon seeing as it needs careful movement of your pieces and how the pieces are relocated is partially the result of the dice roll.